Burn the Shadows
by sandarikka
Summary: The Level 4 Fukuda Touko dreams of becoming a hero like her idol Misaka Mikoto, but she is afraid of her destructive ability. Then she meets GROUP and falls deep into the darkness of Academy City. Before long, she discovers what's really important to her.  HIATUS.
1. The Girl Who Wants to be a Hero

**A/N:**

So this is an OC Toaru fic. It might start off a bit vague, but it's mostly going to be about GROUP, whom I love with all my heart (along with the bazillion other characters of the epic creation of Kazuma Kamachi. Who owns all this; I own nothing except my OC and the plot). I don't think there'll be any pairings; I'm not planning for them. Also the timeline of actual events will be somewhat warped...

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><p><strong>Chapter One – The Girl Who Wants to be a Hero<strong>

_They say that Level 4 is the level that an ESPer gains the tactical value of a military force. Well, I never wanted to be the military. I'm the search and rescue._

_But with a power like mine, all I can do is destroy._

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><p>It was evening in Academy City. Most students would be either on their way to their dormitories, or already there by this stage in the evening. The girls of Tokiwadai Middle School were all supposed to be in their dorms, and the Dorm Mistress was already on her way to do the rounds and make sure all the ojou-samas of Tokiwadai were safely in their dorms.<p>

But it so happens that on that night, there was a girl missing.

School District 6 – a place filled with various places for leisure and recreation. There was even an amusement park there, but it was closed. Only a few people were out at this time of night, and they were mostly teachers and a few delinquents who are avoiding going to their dorms. As always in Academy City, in the background the noise of the wind-mills could be heard along with the constantly blowing wind.

It was a dry night. There had been no rain for several weeks. Despite this, the ground around one of the rides in the amusement park was soaked through.

This was the power of the level 4 ability "Firewater".

The owner of this ability was kneeling in a pool of blood, but none of it was hers. For more than a year now she has been following the movements of the Misaka Sisters in an attempt to stop the brutal slaughter that has been going on, but once again she arrived too late.

"Damn it. Damnit, damnit, damnit!" Her bloodstained hands were suddenly soaked with water and clean again in an instant, courtesy of her ability Firewater.

That was the hundredth time she had appeared at an "experiment" to find only bloodstains. The ninety-fifth time she appeared to find no body. And the two-hundredth time she had ignored curfew to come searching for the Misaka Sisters in an attempt to help her idol Misaka Mikoto.s

Fukuda Touko didn't know why these people are being slaughtered. She didn't know why they were created, and she didn't know who was killing them. All she knew was that an experiment like the one she'd discovered shouldn't be allowed to continue. She sighed as she remembered the one time that she was able to catch up with the other Sisters whilst they were cleaning up a body.

"_Wait a minute! Isn't that girl your twin? Aren't you all the clones of Misaka Mikoto?" She'd heard that there were military clones being produced in the city using the DNA map of a level 5. The rumours at Tokiwadai were that the Railgun Misaka Mikoto was the one whose DNA was being used, and the faces of these twenty girls confirmed that rumour._

"'_For security purposes, I am confirming the password with you,' says Misaka as she begins. 'ZXC741ASD852QWE687,' Misaka tests you."_

"_Wh..." The level 4 was unable to say a word in response to that string of letters and numbers. She didn't even know how to respond to the strange way of talking that the clone had._

"'_Being unable to decode the password shows you are unrelated to this experiment,' Misaka concludes as she turns to leave."_

"_Wait!" The black-haired girl reached out a hand and grabbed the arm of the girl who looked identical to her idol Misaka Mikoto. "What experiment is going on here? I heard they were producing military clones, but to kill them straight off? What kind of experiment is that?" Her angry and confused voice echoed off the narrow walls of the alley._

"'_I have confirmed you are not related to this experiment,' says Misaka as she repeats. 'Please do not enquire into this matter any further,' Misaka warns you."_

But Touko couldn't give up. Knowing that clones of her idol Misaka Mikoto were being made and destroyed inside the very city she lived in... Surely the number 3 level 5 knew what was happening to her clones? To her "Sisters"?

There must be a reason why the Railgun wasn't acting. There had to be something that prevented her from stopping the senseless slaughter, otherwise someone such as Mikoto surely would have already stopped this experiment. That was why she, Touko, had to step up and become a hero, in order to help those who couldn't do it themselves.

This was the first glimpse Fukuda Touko had of the dark side of Academy City.

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><p>A hero. There was a hero inside Academy City. Touko knew that much. She didn't know his name. She didn't know what he looked like or what connection he had to Misaka Mikoto. But that boy had done what she couldn't. He had stopped the slaughter of the Misaka Sisters.<p>

He had stepped up at a time when the Railgun of Tokiwadai had needed help the most. He'd stepped up to do in the light what Touko had been unable to do from the shadows, and stopped the "experiment".

He was a true hero.

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><p>In School District 7 the sounds of thunderclaps and watery "thuds" could be heard echoing amongst the area known as the Garden of Learning. It was the day of the annual "System Scan", the power testing for all the students in Academy City. It was said that more than 60% of the 1.8 million students would once again be ranked as level 0 or level 1. But those students in the Garden of Learning, attending prestigious power development schools such as Tokiwadai, were higher levelled, more powerful ESPers. To even be allowed to enter the school, you had to have a power level of 3 or higher.<p>

Inside the Tokiwadai students there were two of Academy City's level 5 ESPers. At the moment, the sound of shocks was echoing throughout the school – it was the sound of the number 3 level 5, the Railgun. Her power was so great that with an entire swimming pool of water to cushion the blow of the Railgun, Misaka Mikoto was still unable to use her full destructive power.

Fukuda Touko was leaning against a wall in one of the decorative corridors of Tokiwadai Middle School. Her black fringe was hanging over her sad, deep blue eyes. She had just come from her own power testing, and once again she had been given the rank of level 4.

Touko looked at the scars on the palms of her hands. Thanks to the doctors inside Academy City, she was still able to easily use her hands and the only remains of the accident are the shiny white marks across her palms. The doctors had said they could remove them, but Touko didn't ever want to forget what she'd done.

Firewater – the ability to manipulate and control hydrogen atoms. It wasn't a respected power. Those who knew of Touko's ability were afraid of becoming her enemy. Research industries followed her, each competing to see who could give her the best offer to use her powers for their benefit. It wouldn't be hard for Touko to become a level 5. The teachers had told her the same thing this year as they did last year.

"_You're holding back, Fukuda-san. With that level of power, you could easily become the 8__th__ level 5. But every year, you refuse to unleash your full potential. You will never get anywhere if you continue to do that."_

Touko clenched her hands tightly and stared at the floor. She couldn't do it. She couldn't ever become a level 5. She didn't want to take that next step and truly become a "monster".

Hydrogen could be used in all sorts of ways. In power stations it could be used as a coolant, and it could be used as a "shielding gas" while welding. Some of its more finicky isotopes could be used in nuclear reactions. That, of course, is the second thing that comes to mind when someone mentions hydrogen. First, water. Second, the h-bomb.

Currently, Touko had demonstrated the ability to create an explosion equal to about 10 kilograms of TNT, about the size (or perhaps smaller) of a conventional bomb. She could create water from the air and hydrogen fire – that's how she had burned of the palms of both hands in an accident three years ago. This was certainly enough for her to "gain the tactical value of a military force", but not enough for her to be able to fight on equal terms with one of the seven level 5s. And Touko was much too afraid to even try reaching higher.

Touko didn't want to destroy things. She wanted to create. Except for the System Scan every year, the only explosions Touko created were tiny, just enough to create flickering little lights. Every year, whilst having her power tested, Touko was aware that she was holding back. But she knew that if she wanted she could easily fuse the hydrogen atoms and create something big enough to start World War III.

CEOs of power stations followed her around wherever she went. Touko's ability to manipulate hydrogen atoms could revolutionise the power industry, because Touko could even fuse and detonate the atoms without creating radiation.

But the size of the explosions they were asking for scared Touko. She was terrified of her own power. She wanted to become a hero, someone who could save someone. She could do that by detonating hydrogen inside a specially created power plant, and they could use that energy to power the entirety of Tokyo for a long time...

But Touko was too afraid of her own power.

Firewater – sometimes nicknamed "Rainy Day" because the infinitely larger amount of hydrogen available when it rained meant her power could be used more easily. It was the ability to destroy. An ability that had caused her to become a Child Error at the age of five, because her own parents were terrified by its potential.

_I'll show them. I'll show them that I can do something more._

_I can be a hero._

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><p><strong>AN: **So what do you think of the plot so far? Please review and let me know! Reviews stir up the plot bunnies :D  
>Hopefully in the next chapter GROUP should be introduced. And I don't claim to be a physicist or chemist; I have only a vague idea what hydrogen can do. I used wikipedia for the rest...<p>

Read and review!

Love, Sandarikka


	2. Into the Dark 1

**A/N:**

Thank you to my reviewers! Your support means a lot Don't worry about ridiculous detail into political struggles... I really don't have the patience to write that ^^ though of course there'll be a little since it's in the darkness. I decided I like having quotes at the start so you can expect that too.

Sorry about the slow update... it took me ages to write this chapter because I had a lot of trouble introducing GROUP... anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review! :D

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Into the Dark Part 1<strong>

"_I know those passersby aren't actually heartless. Even if they barged in to help, it's not like they'd be able to do anything. They'd just get hurt. If there's anyone willing to stand up for a stranger, they're either just an idiot or..." _– Misaka Mikoto

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><p>30th September. It was evening, and the sky had darkened over with clouds. Touko was standing outside the entrance to an underground mall, watching a strange girl in nun clothes and a boy with a cane head over to a restaurant. There were always strangely dressed people around in Academy City, so she looked away to find something else to capture her attention.<p>

Touko wandered down into the mall to find something to eat. Even though at Tokiwadai there were meals served by student maids, she didn't like to seem dependant on the school. Since there always seemed to be money on her card and phone she used that, even though Touko had no idea who was supplying her with the funds. It made her a bit uneasy, but until something changed, she'd continue to use it to buy stuff she needed. Besides, it was probably funding from Academy City itself, as she was a Child Error with no parents to support her.

By the time she came up from the underground mall again, it was past seven o'clock. It had started to rain a little, and Touko frowned. She hated the rain, because it made it difficult to control her power with so many hydrogen atoms around. She sighed.

There weren't many people around, which Touko thought was strange. Tokiwadai had one of the earliest curfews in Academy City, but at this time there still should have been lots of students moving around. A homeless person was asleep on a bench across the road as Touko started to make her way back to the Tokiwadai dorms.

Wait.

"Are there even any homeless people in Academy City?" There were always delinquents roaming around, and hanging out in abandoned buildings, but she didn't think anyone would just go to sleep on a bench. It probably wasn't safe.

There wasn't anyone else about. Touko crossed the road and looked down at the middle aged teacher lying asleep on the bench. His face was slightly distorted, as though he was in pain.

Touko touched his shoulder gently. "Hey, are you ok? It's starting to rain; you don't want to stay outside for much longer." There was no response.

"Hey." Touko shook him a bit harder. His face didn't even twitch out of its pained expression.

Then there was a loud rumble. Touko spun to see what looked like the top of a building travelling along the roads of District Seven, towards the infamous windowless building. With a huge crash and lots of dust, the building collapsed whilst the bigger, stationary building remained unharmed. Touko's breath caught in her throat.

"What's... what's happening?" She took a few running steps across the road, in the direction of the Tokiwadai dorm, before her legs collapsed beneath her and she fell to the ground.

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><p>October 3rd.<p>

"Fukuda!" Touko quickly laid the book she'd been sleeping behind flat on the table.

"Yes?" She looked up innocently, blinking sleep out of her eyes.

The teacher at the front of the room stared Touko in the eye. "The answer to question three. What is it?"

"Uh..." Touko scrambled to read the math problem on the board and work out the answer. "Forty... two?"

Their maths teacher gave a little huff and Touko smiled to herself. Maths was the one subject she could sleep through – even among the already above-average students at Tokiwadai, she had a good brain for maths, so the subject was easy for her.

As the teacher turned to write more questions on the board, Touko rested her chin on her hand, hiding behind her hair and looking out the window at the distant wind mills. She'd been up late again last night, staring out the window unable to sleep. Insomnia was a frequent visitor to the dorm room she lived in alone. Touko still had nightmares about that day, three years ago, far too often. Once she'd had one, she wouldn't be able to sleep properly for a week afterwards, too scared to close her eyes in case the dream came again.

It couldn't be said that Touko _knew_ about the secret "dark side" of Academy City. She wasn't really aware of its existence. But she'd touched it on numerous occasions whilst searching for the Sisters of her hero, Misaka Mikoto. She'd thought about it again a few days ago when she'd seen an entire building fly down a street, and then found herself lying on the ground, soaked, a few hours later. And once, three years ago, she'd dived right into it without knowing what it was.

_What was that place, three years ago in District 10? How could such things be happening to Child Errors who aren't as powerful as me?_ The nature of that experiment reminded Touko of the more recent experience she'd had, looking for the god-knew-how-many Misaka Sisters. That experiment had been cruel. Inhuman. Something that shouldn't be allowed, no matter which way you looked at it. How could the higher ups in Academy City allow such a thing to go on? Surely they knew about it.

When Touko was five, her parents had abandoned her in Academy City because they were so terrified at the possibility that _their daughter_ could one day cause a nuclear reaction that encompassed the whole of Japan. As a young child, she hadn't understood what that meant. Now, she had barely any memories left of her parents, but even so, being labelled a "Child Error" stung.

She'd stayed at an orphanage for a few years before moving to a middle school which fed almost exclusively into Tokiwadai and other Garden of Learning power development schools, thanks to her rapid levelling up. She'd managed to keep in touch with a few of the other Child Error girls whose powers weren't as strong as hers though. After Touko had been in the middle school for a year, she'd received an email from one of the girls.

The skin of Touko's palm was too smooth beneath her chin. The day she'd received that email was the day she'd lost the palms of her hands, the day when she'd found herself on a path that was heading somewhere she couldn't see. She knew the higher ups knew about her. She knew there was a reason that despite cutting curfew numerous times and falling asleep in class, she was still allowed to be part of Tokiwadai instead of being moved to another school.

The bell rang and Touko left the classroom with the other students. Thankfully, classes were now over, and Touko wanted to go do a round of a district or so to see if she could possibly help anyone.

Her Level 1 friend Kurumi was one of the other children from the orphanages that had remained in touch with Touko. Thanks to her, Touko knew a fair bit about what was happening in the lower levels of Academy City's society – some of the movements of the large group known as Skill Out, for example. According to Kurumi, Skill Out was mostly comprised of Level 0 delinquents who liked to gang up on higher level ESPers, though apparently there were lots of inner factions with different goals.

Touko had heard stories about Misaka Mikoto fighting against large groups of delinquents who had either targeted her or someone else. Touko knew that if they defeated those groups of boys, then they would hopefully think twice about trying to assault anyone else. Like Mikoto, Touko hadn't joined Judgment. She knew that technically it wasn't her job to keep the peace around Academy City, but since the Sisters experiment, she'd come to realise that it wasn't ok to just rely on Anti Skill or Judgment. There were things happening in Academy City that no-one knew about, things that the law-enforcement organisations couldn't deal with.

If she wasn't part of Judgment, she wouldn't have to take the cases assigned to her or help out when she was directed to. Touko was free to do what she wanted and help anyone she happened to pass by. It gave her freedom. It meant she didn't have to take part in the other jobs of Judgment, the boring ones like giving people directions.

The other reason she hadn't joined Judgment was that she still hadn't really found a way that her power could be used to protect. She'd found ways that she could use it less destructively than its full potential, but not a solely defensive application.

"Hey, Touko! Where are you off to?" The voice belonged to Sanae, one of the girls in her grade at Tokiwadai. Touko knew everyone in her grade and liked them, but she didn't often hang out with any of them. It wasn't because she was a loner, but because most people were uncertain how to respond to Touko's Firewater.

"I'm just going to... play some arcade games..." Touko responded awkwardly. They still had a few hours until the curfew. Touko figured she should probably obey it and go back to the dorm when she was supposed to once in a while, unless she was occupied protecting someone.

Sanae nodded. "Well, ok. We're going to a bath in District 6; you could come with us if you wanted."

"Maybe I'll come by later." Touko kept walking, looking at her feet. Despite trying to be a hero who could step up to save anyone, she wasn't very good with people. She wanted to become someone like Mikoto, who was able to stand up for people she didn't know and talk to new acquaintances with ease.

_I'll do it. I can be strong. I'll show them._

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><p>Touko didn't like arcade games much. Most of the time they were rigged anyway, so it was almost impossible to win. And she hated games of chance, where it was all luck and no skill whether you won something or not. Even though, out of nervousness, she did go to the arcade and play a few games, she eventually forced herself to leave and went out to "patrol" the streets.<p>

The reason Touko was so reluctant to actually go searching for someone to help was that she didn't want to attract the attention of the authorities. If anyone saw her using her power offensively, they might draw connections to the destruction of that research facility three years ago.

The water bottle that was attached to a shoulder strap banged against her hip as Touko walked around another corner. She carried it everywhere with her. After all, she was a Child Error. It wasn't unusual for them to be targeted – no-one would miss them if they disappeared. She had to have some way of protecting herself.

Touko's power couldn't create hydrogen from nothing, but it could extract it from other objects – including Touko's own body. In that incident three years ago, she'd almost died from dehydration after using the water in her own body to fuel her power. Since then, she'd taken to carrying a bottle of water around with her, just in case. Only once had she had to use it, and that was only because she'd seen a tiny explosion in a bush, and used it to douse the tree before a fire started – she hadn't even used her power.

Was it really safe to go walking around in her Tokiwadai uniform? They were pretty much the most prestigious school in Academy City, and known for being the home of rich, powerful girls. Touko was powerful alright, but she wasn't rich. She didn't have any family who would ransom her.

_But that's ok. I can look after myself. I'm a Level 4. What can happen?_

And then she saw it – an alley way that people were walking past, staring down into, and then hurrying on like they'd seen nothing.

_This is my chance. Something's going on down there. I can help someone if I go investigate._

It was really only recently since That Day three years ago that Touko had started to try and become a better person. When the girl known as the Railgun had joined Tokiwadai, Touko had immediately admired her strong personality and the deep personality she seemed to have. She wasn't alone in her admiration, but Touko knew that there weren't many ESPers who would look out for people other than themselves.

She put a hand to the blue stone pendant around her neck to steady herself. _I can do this._ Her hand tightened on the drink bottle around her waist, loosening the lid in case she needed it. They were in District 1, and the buildings on either side of the alleyway looked like high-security, VIP kind of buildings. Whatever was going on the alley way should probably be stopped.

Touko took a brave step forward, popping the cap of the bottle.

There was a group of about four or five teenage boys in the alleyway. They were putting what looked like bags of rubbish in front of a door labelled "fire escape", completely blocking it off so that it couldn't be opened from the outside. A few disabled cleaning bots were lying around on the ground.

"Ennh? Who's this?" One of the boys said on seeing Touko.

"That's Tokiwadai's uniform, isn't it?" Another said, leering at her. Touko's legs wanted to take a step backwards, but she forced herself to stand still.

"Well then, are you lost?" Said another of the boys.

"What are you doing here?" Touko asked in an almost monotonous voice. She had no idea what level those boys were, but she was pretty sure none of them was one of the Level 5s. Even so, shivers were running through her body.

They laughed slyly. "Nothing you need to worry about. Why don't you go back to your dorm?"

"That's a fire escape door. If you block it up, they won't be able to get out of the building in an emergency."

"That's kind of the point, darling." One of them sauntered up to her with his hands in his pockets, walking around her to stand behind her. He seemed to be almost twenty. "I think that if you don't want to come with us, you should probably get out of here." His hand was somehow resting on her shoulder.

Touko took another step forward, brushing his hand of his shoulder and using her other hand to spray a stream of water from her drink bottle into the air. The teenage boy laughed as he got splashed by it, and stepped forward to grab her wrist.

"That's so refreshing after the hard work we've done. I think I'll bring you along with us." The tone of his voice was creepy.

But with the hydrogen so readily available, Touko didn't feel so scared of him anymore. Now she just had to concentrate on controlling her power. Manipulating the atoms, she created a nearly invisible ball of hydrogen fire about the size of a soccer ball in between herself and the boy. Touko could feel the heat from the fire and concentrated on compressing the fire so that it wouldn't spread and consume the oxygen in the air.

"Don't come any closer! I'm a Level 4!" She shouted, aware that she was stuck in between the cocky leader and his three friends. If they tried to attack her from behind, Touko didn't know what she'd do.

She set the hydrogen around her left hand alight as well, using the hydrogen from the water she'd sprayed into the air, and tried to put a nonchalant tone in her voice. "How long do you think it would take for me to set all the hydrogen in the area alight?"

"Shit..." Touko could hear the boys behind her taking a step backwards.

The guy in front of her spat on the ground. "Tch. Thank your gods we're finished here today, ESPer." Seeming to ignore the ultra-violet emitting sphere of burning hydrogen, he stalked past the shaking Touko and disappeared into the back alleys with the other boys.

Touko diffused the hydrogen she'd compressed so that it would stop burning. Her hand was red and felt like it had been sunburnt, but at least the guys were gone. She moodily kicked at a bag of rubbish. "I wonder what they were doing here... I suppose I could burn these so that the door's free again."

As she set the bags alight, Touko couldn't help giving a sigh of relief that she'd managed to get rid of the problem all on her own, without destroying anything.

That was when the black bags started to give out a putrid black smoke – that wasn't just burning plastic.

Touko coughed and tried to multiply the hydrogen atoms to create enough water to put out the flames – which now weren't just hydrogen fire; something in the bags was designed to burn – but at the rate the flames were consuming the oxygen, she was becoming dizzy quickly.

There were alarms going off in the buildings next to her. Touko felt one of the emergency bots move past her and start spraying water on the fire, but it wasn't achieving much.

_I've got to get out of here. I can't let them... catch me..._ Touko pushed herself off the wall and staggered forwards into the back street that the four boys had gone down a few minutes earlier. How had it all gone wrong so quickly?

If Anti-Skill analysed the course of the fire, then surely they'd find out that Touko had started it. They probably wouldn't know anything about the four boys and they couldn't know that Touko was trying to help. They'd just connect it with the "malicious destruction" charge that was surely on Touko's long term file and then she'd be punished – there was no doubt about it.

She rounded several corners before stopping. The plume of dark smoke was still clearly visible, but Touko thought that she might be far enough away to pause for a second. She put a hand to her chest and coughed.

_This... is what happens, when I try to help... All I end up doing is making a bigger mess... surely a cleaning bot would have come across the rubbish if I'd just left it. I should have just kept walking like everyone else._

_Well... what should I do now?_ Touko looked up, but she didn't recognise the streets. It was possible that she wasn't even in District 1 anymore; she'd been on the edge previously. She could be anywhere in Academy City's northern districts.

She took a drink from the water bottle and straightened up a bit. _I should just pretend that nothing happened. I'll just go back to the dorms and forget about it. No-one was hurt. It's fine._

A step forward, and – were they gun shots? Touko glanced down the side alley. She didn't know where they were coming from, but gun shots weren't something that she should have been hearing if Anti-Skill had arrived. They had a policy not to harm children, and that meant more than 80% of the population of Academy City.

Touko looked down at her feet. "I shouldn't go look. I shouldn't. I can't. I've already done something bad today. I shouldn't get myself involved with anything else..."

With a heavy feeling her heart, Touko stepped out of the darkness in the side alley into the light of the main street, and headed back towards District 7.

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><p><strong>AN:** Sorry it's only part 1, and we still haven't seen GROUP yet (well... sort of... but anyway)... I'm tired so here's just the first half for now. Hope you like it.

Also, have a look at Touko's last name, Fukuda. As a rather unlucky person myself, I find it hilarious that one of the most common names in Japan (according to -pedia), and thus the name I simply HAD to use for this character, sounds incredibly like...

Fukou da.


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